New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has recently unveiled his desire for closer relations with Latin America. While meeting with Cuban Vice President Cabrisas last week, Rouhani described the need to strengthen ties with Havana as especially important for the economy of both nations. Due to the suspicious nature of the state’s relationship under the Ahmadinejad administration, many U.S. officials are beginning to question the real motive behind Rouhani’s sudden outreach. With two nations reputedly responsible for state-sponsored terrorism, many believe Ahmadinejad’s relationship with Cuba was founded on one underlying principal: ‘fighting the same front’ Cuba has openly supported Iran’s program to develop nuclear technology, dating back to former President Fidel Castro who often spoke of his admiration of Iran’s ability to fight major powers. Returning the favor in a sign of support, Iran has many times publicly denounced U.S. embargo on the island nation.

Rouhani, however, had made clear during his inauguration his intent to open up to the international community in an attempt to resolve the nuclear issue and restore Iran’s economy. The self-proclaimed reformist responded to claims of having ulterior motives by reassuring his country “does not seek war with the world” and will focus on stopping those who do. Rouhani also took the opportunity to reiterate his previous stance on increased transparency; stating it is the only “key to open the doors of trust” with other nations. According to CNN’s Mariano Castillo, the U.S. finds it rather suspicious that this meeting occurred almost immediately following the recent Panama Canal discovery of a ship carrying undeclared arms from Cuba. Although the origin of the ship was confirmed to be from North Korea, officials believe the timing of the discovery to be much more than simple irony. The multiple common ground factors shared by these three ‘rogue states’ makes for a complicated assessment by the international community on the recent cargo findings.

It remains difficult to judge the true intentions behind Rouhani’s expansion in Latin America. Thus far, his actions have proven to coincide with his words; for the most part holding true to his progressive objectives. As we have seen in the past, however, things are not always as they may appear and foreign policy agendas have a tendency to change rather quickly. One thing seems certain— if suspicions turn out to be correct; this trilateral alliance could potentially become the United States’ most dangerous national security threat.